Directions: Take I-84 East to the 181st Street exit. Head north and the road soon turns into Airport Way. Follow Airport Way until you reach the parking area on the left. It’s not a marked parking area and kinda sneaks up on you so be sure to keep an eye out (the cross street is roughly 166th)

From the parking area head down the gravel trail to the metal dock. You can go a couple ways here and we chose to head left toward the headwaters.

Starting out you will head under an overpass and soon come to the Big 4 Corners (it’s signed). Stay right and continue paddling through the tree lined slough. The slough is relatively deep but full of grass and lily pads. In the beginning you’ll mostly be paddling through wooded areas with the chance to see a lot of Herons and small birds. About a mile in it’ll open up to more grassy areas where there are Osprey and Red-tailed Hawks. We also saw an Egret which was great. Keep your eyes peeled for small turtles as well.

In the more open areas there are some pretty Wild Iris as well as some other flowers. We paddled out for a little over 2 miles. We turned around when it started to become more and more industrial. You will start to notice more businesses and start seeing the railroad tracks. Turning back here made for a nice 4-4.25 miles outing.

This is a great option for people who are wanting to see wildlife. There were numerous birds along the slough. It may not be the most scenic but it’s still pretty. Another positive would be that it’s not very busy, we only came across maybe 3 or 4 people.

The weather last weekend was perfect so we decided to get out and do a little kayaking.

We went up to Ridgefield, Washington and kayaked around Bachelor Slough in the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. It was a great spot for birding and just a nice relaxing paddle. We were out on the water for about three hours and managed to see many birds (Cliff Swallow nests are pictured below), as well as other wildlife.

If you’re looking for a great place to rent kayaks, Ridgefield Kayak is a great option. They were very nice and the kayaks and gear were in great shape. They also do kayak tours and lessons.